Anthony Robles is a wrestler who won the 2010-11 NCAA individual wrestling championship in the 125-pound weight class despite being born with only one leg. He is the author of the book Unstoppable: From Underdog to Undefeated: How I Became a Champion and also a motivational speaker.
A Key Talent | I would say that one strength that I have that has been critical to my success is the ability to stay motivated and dedicated to a goal even when it takes a while to reach that goal. The problem is that we as individuals always want success right now and easily however this is not always a reality. If the goal takes a while to reach we often lose interest or turn away so one thing that I do to help keep me motivated is set up small goals or checkpoints along the route to my larger goal. In wrestling I broke down becoming a national champion into smaller goals such as not giving up points in individual matches, winning against certain individuals by a certain amount of points or things of that nature. If we break down the large goal into smaller ones it will help us achieve the ultimate one step at a time.
I Am Driven By | What drives me is the desire to be better every day, my coach always used the term “chase your greatness”. This doesn’t mean be better than anyone else at certain things it just means that you are your best and give your best effort in everything you do. I try to chase my greatness in all that I do because I want to be an all-around, better human being and I want to improve myself daily.
The Difference Between Good And Great | The difference to me is that people who are great at what they do are willing to go the extra mile and work harder than the people who are simply good at what they do. Sometimes individuals get satisfied with just being as good as everyone else but the individuals who want to be great are willing to work harder than everyone else to reach that next level.
Dealing With Doubt | When I was wrestling for my championship against the current champion I had a ton of self-doubt. I started to question if I was good enough to beat him, the thing that always gets me over those moments of fear and doubt to accomplish a goal is that I tell myself I worked too hard to lose.
I Am Inspired By | My mom is my role model , she taught me at a young age to do the best with what I have and to always try to think positive.
My Highlights | The first thing that makes me the proudest is receiving my college degree. I did not come from a wealthy family who could afford to send me to college so it was tough working to have money to pay for school for the first few years but it was worth all that hard work to graduate. The second was winning my wrestling title because it took me nine years to do and there were a lot of doubters.
My Definition Of Success | Success to me means that I am giving it my all in whatever I do , If I can walk away each day knowing I gave something my full effort than whatever the result might be I see as a success because I did all that I could.
The Meaning Of Life | The meaning of life is to do well by others, be a good example to them and to help change their life in some way for the better.
The Best Advice I’ve Received | The best advice that I received was to always see the positive in everything especially when you fail or face setbacks. Even slow progress is progress so we always need to remember this.
Performing At My Peak | The thing that helps me be at my peak is that I always treat each speaking event, wrestling match, or goal that I am trying to reach like it is my last chance. I tell myself I have to give this my all because I might not get another chance.
The Legacy I Would Like To Leave | The only legacy that I would like to leave is to better at least one person’s life. If I can help improve and change someone’s life for the better than that’s all legacy I need.
